The Stadium Super Trucks series is at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend for two races. If you’re wondering, “What are Super Stadium Trucks?” You are missing out. SST races sound, well, dumb, and that’s why they’re dumb fun. These trucks compete on the same tracks as sports cars, except they have to go over jumps and dirt, all while reaching speeds of over 100 miles per hour. This weekend, they’re on the same track as the NASCAR racers at Bristol Motor Speedway.
What is a Stadium Super Truck race?
Super Truck drivers Max Gordon, Davey Hamilton Jr., Robert Stout and Jerett Brooks take to the air on Pine Avenue during the SST race at the 47th Annual Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach | Will Lester, via Getty Images
First take a specially designed dirt racing truck, then put it on a street race track and add some jumps and dirt sections and you get the idea. But these trucks aren’t really designed for street courses, so the action is wild as they rock, tilt, slide, and slide around street courses on the same DOT-rated 35-inch street tires you can buy at your local Costco. The trucks look a lot like Trophy Trucks or pre-racers, but the look is all that is the same.
Drivers don’t have to hit the jumps in the middle of the track. But, since they are placed on the racing line, they are faster if they don’t go around it. Each ramp is 10 feet wide and three feet tall, and drivers typically fly 150 feet. Often, like in a rally-cross event, trucks will go from dirt to pavement to dirt in the same lap.
What is a super stadium truck?
Super Truck driver Max Gordon, son of Robby Gordon, drives on three wheels around turn 10 during practice at the 47th annual Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. | Will Lester via Getty Images
According to TopSpeed, these trucks are monsters. They’re about the size of a small truck, like a 1990s Ford Ranger, and the driver sits almost in the middle. But they do have Chevy V8s that make around 600 horsepower, an automatic transmission (!), and tall off-road suspension. They weigh less than 3,000 pounds, so they have an incredible power-to-weight ratio that takes them over 140 miles per hour on the fastest tracks. Each truck is worth approximately $300,000.
who to look after this weekend
This season, Gavin Harlien is in the lead, but Max Gordon and Robert Stout are not far behind in the stats. Harlien, who is only 23 years old, has competed in stock cars, off-road racing and more. But by far, he’s making the most of his SST run so far. Fun fact, he is the youngest competitor in a motorized competition at the X-Games.
Robby Gordon, the son of “Baja Bob” Gordon, started the series in 2013. It was reportedly inspired by an off-road series sponsored by Mickey Thompson, where drivers like Jimmie Johnson got their start.
